This is an
exceptional old, wooden ritual mask from the people of
the lowland areas of southern Nepal. It is hand carved in a heavy wood, and then
painted with vivid colors in the traditional style. This
Mask is Kali, the wrathful and very revered form of the Mother
Goddess. She has a black complexion, she has a gape jawed,
leering grin, and no doubt the masker would have held a long
cloth tongue extending from the mouth that would sway and gyrate
disconcertingly with the masker's steps and movements. The mask
is in structurally sound but there are scuffs to the paint and
an there are indigenous repairs to the wood on the jaw and on
the area behind the crown (not visible from the front), which do
not threaten the piece, nor does it detract from it any notable
way.

In festivities where masked dancers reenact the Hindu
mythological epics, Kali is one of the most popular characters,
so mask collectors and Kali devotees will find this very
appealing because it is a very high quality example of the
important Goddess genre.

Kali is the form of the great Mother Goddess which is
simultaneously nurturing and wrathful, repugnant and enticing,
terrifying and protective. She wants the best for her devotees,
who are like her own beloved children. She can propel the devout
to the extreme heights of bliss and enlightenment and along the
way she will mercilessly crush anything or anyone who gets in
the way - utterly annihilating obstacles to enlightenment.